


Fire Alarm, Heart Alarm

by baeconandeggs, exoair85



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-07
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-06 20:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6768820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/exoair85/pseuds/exoair85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chanyeol wants to sleep at night more than anything else, Baekhyun wants to cook at night as long as he need. After both of their attempts fail twice, they agree that making desserts together will fix all their problems.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fire Alarm, Heart Alarm

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that I explicate your prompt in a fun way like how you wanted. Also I have zero knowledge on cooking and baking, so forgive me if there is any mistake.

Chanyeol liked his apartment, no, he loved it, it was the most perfect apartment in Seoul. From the moment he heard the restrictions of the building from the landlord, he decided that it’s the perfect apartment in the perfect building, simply because of two reasons, 1/ The building is children free, meaning no kids’ noise on the hallways and more importantly no baby crying sounds at night, he likes children don’t get him wrong, he even chose to be an elementary teacher, so he’s getting his daily dose of kids from his work, but he’s a very light sleeper, the slightest sound would wake him up from his precious sleep, so he needed to have soundless building to enjoy his sleep. 2/ no pets allowed, he has no problem with pets as well, he actually loves all animals, except he’s allergic to them. Needless to say, he signed the contract as fast as he could.

However, after 4 months of living there, he started to rethink about the perfectness of the building all because of one particular resident who lived in the floor below his apartment. It all started with a Saturday night, when a fire alarm woke him up at 2:00 a.m. The building was emptied successfully after several minutes and they were all waiting for the firefighters to finish their report before they go back to their apartments. He heard the others around him saying that the fire alarm went off from the apartment below his, specifically from his kitchen. He turned his head to look at the one at fault and he could easily recognize him from the look of shame on his face, bowing and apologizing to the landlord, the firefighters, and any residents who passed by him, some of them scowled at him and returned to their apartments while others assured him that it is alright and what’s important is that nobody was harmed. 

Chanyeol wanted to act like the first party, mainly because now he will spend the next hours trying to sleep again, but when he faced the guy who caused the fire, he didn’t have the heart to blame him simply because he looked too cute and embarrassed from what happened so he passed by him quietly and went inside the building, when he got into the elevator, the ashamed cute guy was trailing after him, going up to his apartment as well.

“I am deeply sorry for disturbing your sleep” the guy suddenly bowed to him on the second the elevator doors closed.

“It’s alright, these things happens” he was hoping that the guy will wash the pitiful look off of his face but nothing changed so he tried again.

“What happened?”

“I was trying to cook but accidentally burned my kitchen” He looked like a kicked puppy as if he didn’t want Chanyeol to blame him.

“What were you cooking in the middle of the night” why was he a wake in the first place! Chanyeol wanted to ask but he chose not to.

“Kimchi spaghetti, I accidentally added too much sesame oil when I was going to mix kimchi with the spaghetti”

“That’s dangerous! Did you get hurt?” Honestly he didn’t thought that the cause of the fire alarm is a real fire.

“Oh no, I’m perfectly fine, I left the kitchen when I saw the fire, hence the fire alarms, although there is a big black stain on my kitchen wall, other than that everything is good” the doors opened for his floor, “oh that’s my floor, thank you Chanyeol for your understanding and sorry again” he smiled at Chanyeol and turned to go to his apartment, Chanyeol pressed the open button and called for the guy again.

“Wait, how come you know my name and I don’t know yours?”

“Name’s Baekhyun, Byun Baekhyun, and I know your name from you silly, you introduced yourself to almost everyone when you first moved in and I introduced myself back, so you should know my name as well as I know yours” his eyes turns into crescents as he laughed at the half asleep Chanyeol who seemed confused by the new information.

“Oh, ok then I really need to go back to sleep now, see you later Baekhyun, and try not to burn anything” he said it as a joke, but if he knew that his joke will turn into a fact on the following Saturday night, he would never have said anything.

+++

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, I must’ve miscalculated some things” Baekhyun was afraid now that the landlord would kick him out of his building any time now, really no one gets the fire alarm to go off twice in a raw, he repeated what he did last week, bow and apologize to the landlord and the firefighters and promise them that this will never happen again, then proceed to apologize to everyone and accept their upset glares.

And now he’s at the elevator, and once again with Chanyeol from the apartment above, just like last week, the taller looked half asleep with his dishevelled hair and large puffy eyes, he remembered the guy’s bad memory from last time.

“My name’s Baekhyun, I-”

“I remember, and sorry about last time, I was in a serious need of sleep so I left my memory in the bed when I heard the fire alarm”

Baekhyun felt guilty again so he lowered his face and murmured again, “Sorry”

Chanyeol realize what he said, “wait I didn’t mean to make you feel bad, it’s ok, it’s already forgotten”

“Thank you”

“But what is it were you making this time?”

“Crème brûlée”

Chanyeol gaped at him, “in the middle of the night!”

When he think about it, it’s really weird to make Crème brûlée at 2:00 a.m., he must be looking really weird in front of Chanyeol right now, but he had his reasons so he kept quiet. The doors of the elevator opened to his floor and he stepped out as fast as he can, because really he can’t explain to his half asleep neighbour why he’s cooking (and failing) in the middle of the night.

“Anyways, sorry again, see you later, bye Chanyeol!”

When he closed the door of his apartment, he let out a deep breath, this is not working as planned, he really have to be careful next time or he will be kicked out of his apartment, the other neighbours started giving him annoyed looks every time he pumped into them after the second incident, he also saw Chanyeol once but the guy was busy on his phone, he almost didn’t pay attention to Baekhyun, but after a second of recognition, the taller waved at him in a friendly matter and continued on his way.

+++

The second time they pumped into each other was on a Saturday afternoon when Baekhyun was coming home after shopping for his next (hopefully success) attempt to cook. Chanyeol was on his way to go out, when he saw Baekhyun he eyed the grocery bags he’s holding suspiciously.

“You are not trying to cook tonight also, are you?” Chanyeol asked him, narrowing his eyes.

Not wanting to worry his neighbour, he laughed nervously, “no, I gave up on cooking already, this is just instant food for a lazy Saturday, how about you, lazy Saturday is not on your calendar, I believe,” the other was on his way out of the building, wearing a black skinny jeans with black blazer and a white dress shirt underneath, he used to see his neighbour on hurry all the time, so this was the first time he allowed himself to check his neighbour out if he dared to admit, then he felt self-conscious from what he’s wearing, oversized grey hoodie with a grey shorts that are too short.

Chanyeol chuckled lowly, “I unfortunately, don’t have the same luxury as you to enjoy a lazy Saturday, I have a lunch date with my mother” this is the first time he noted his deep voice too. He thought it was deep from the sleepiness before.

“Oh, don’t let me interrupt you then, have fun, and say hi to your mother for me, oh wait that sounded wrong, just have fun” he grinned brightly at his neighbour who laughed loudly, waved at him and left the building.

+++

As promised, Baekhyun spent Saturday lazing around in his apartment, but when the clock hit 12:30 a.m., he decided to start his mission, he tried to do it during the day, but the motivation does not come to him until after midnight, he can’t help it really, he’s a night person in nature. He prepared the ingredients he will need, he was going to try the Crème brûlée one more time, this time he will be more careful, he was waiting for the cream to boil before he add it to the eggs and sugar mixture when he heard a faint knocks coming from his front door, he looked at his watch, and frown, who would visit him this late, the knocks were back again which made him jump from his place a little bit, he took the first weapon he could find and went to the door to see who’s there, when he peeked through the door hole, he found Chanyeol, his neighbour, half a sleep, dishevelled hair, and of course his large puffy eyes, he opened the door immediately before he would knock again.

“Chanyeol, what are-” he was interrupted from a sleepy Chanyeol who was holding his hands in front as if he was trying to stop Baekhyun from moving.

“Stop cooking whatever you're cooking in the middle of a Saturday night, stop it” when the taller opened his eyes completely and noticed what the other is holding, he gawked at him, “um, is this how you burn your kitchen every week?”

“What?” Baekhyun asked in confusion.

“Why are you holding a blowtorch?” Chanyeol pointed at the blowtorch on his hand.

“Oh, that’s a cooking blowtorch, for cooking purposes only.”

“It’s still a blowtorch and could cause fire.” he was still eyeing the blowtorch when he smelt a strong smell of burnt milk, the other must’ve smelt it too from the way his eyes widened comically before he run back to his kitchen with Chanyeol following him close behind. When Baekhyun entered his kitchen he found most of his cream already boiled and poured on his stove creating a dry brunt layer of its dairy content. He turned off the stove and turned to his taller neighbour.

“See what you did, damn it I was gonna do it right this time, if it wasn’t for your interruption, why are you here in the first place?” He almost shouted but remain quiet so he won’t wake anyone up from the other neighbours.

“I couldn’t sleep well with the bags of the groceries I saw in your hands this afternoon playing in my mind, I had a hunch that you will try cooking again and apparently I was right, now if you don’t mind, can you tell me why are you cooking in the middle of the night, because obviously I can’t sleep soundly every Saturday night anymore, and why do you have blowtorch for god’s sake” in his half asleep status, Chanyeol thought that he was making perfect sense, that it’s absolutely okay to barge in your neighbour’s apartment and stop him from cooking, and demand him for some answers.

Baekhyun pulled his tall neighbour to the front door. “That’s it, go back to your apartment, you clearly ruined my cooking night so rest assured and sleep well” he finally pushed the giant guy outside his apartment and closed the door.

+++

Not a minute have past when he heard a faint knocks on his door, he sighed and went to open the door without checking who was knocking this time.

“What do you want now?” He crossed his arms and waited for the giant to answer.

“I’m sorry for invading your place and ruining your, uhm what were you trying to make this time?”

“Crème brûlée”

“Again! Ok then, sorry for ruining your failed attempt in making crème brûlée”

“It was failed because of you, jerk”

“Oh please, it was a failure from the beginning or did you honestly think that you can make an eggs and sugar mixture without actually mixing them together, wait was that why you have a blowtorch, did you want to act as a professional and make a sugar crust with it” he laughed at him mockingly until the shorter’s face was flushed from the anger and embarrassment.

“Aw sorry, but please don’t cook again” he cooed at the angry cute boy.

“Sorry you because I will keep cooking” he answered stubbornly.

Chanyeol sighed loudly, he was tired, he just spent the entire day with his mother and listen to her constant nagging and advises so he got zero energy, but again he couldn’t sleep because he was having a strong flash back from the last two Saturdays where he was awaken by the fire alarm. Unwillingly, he found himself going downstairs to the floor below and knocking the door of his cute neighbour’s apartment to stop him from cooking, looking back at said cute neighbour, he looked stubborn and determined to cook, it didn’t seem that he will sleep anytime soon and he himself didn’t think that he will get any sleep at this rate as well.

“Tell you what, how about I make it up to you by cleaning your kitchen with you, in exchange of telling me why you were trying to cook even though you obviously can’t”

Baekhyun of course can’t refuse an offer of helping out so he found himself agreeing and going back to his kitchen with the taller following him. When they started rubbing the stained stove clean, Chanyeol repeated his question again.

“Well there is this guy that I like,” Baekhyun started shyly, “who’s really cute and really good at cooking, he’s actually an assistant chef at one of the restaurants, that’s how good he is and I really want to impress him with my cooking and ask him out probably after that”

“Wow, he must’ve been really cute to make you this passionate about cooking”

“THE CUTEST, he is so cute and adorable, his eyes are so big, even bigger than yours and he has this heart shaped lips that look really pretty when he smile, he doesn’t smile much but that does not make him any less cute,” Chanyeol listened to his neighbour thinking that _he_ is the one who looked the cutest while talking about his crush.

“Ok one more question, you really can’t cook, right?”

Baekhyun felt that there is no reason to deny his lack of cooking experience. “Fine, I am terrible at cooking, I never cooked before and Kyungsoo knew this fact about me, that’s why I thought of cooking for him, that will show him how serious I am. The guy I like named Kyungsoo by the why.”

“Figured, but are you sure that’s a good a idea? I mean no offence but what if you poisoned him with your cooking”

“How dare you?! I would never do that, that’s why I’m practicing” they were almost done from the stove so Baekhyun started to take the used utensils to wash them.

“Why late at the night though?” Chanyeol followed him to wash his hands.

“What can I say, I am a night person” he answered sassily as if it’s the most reasonable answer in the world.

By the time they finished the dishes Baekhyun offered Chanyeol a glass of milk as a thank you for his help in cleaning, they drank their milk in silence, both already tired from the earlier event, especially Chanyeol who was already tired from the long day, after he finished his milk, he faced the other, “listen, I have a proposition to you”

Baekhyun looked at him through his glass of milk, “yeah, what’s that?”

“let me teach you how to cook, no matter how long it will take-considering your amazing cooking talent, and before you protest, let me tell you, I’m not trying to brag but I’m a good cook, maybe as good as your little boyfriend”

“No one is as good as Kyungsoo, how dare you” he pouted at the giant neighbour, really who does he think he is to compare himself with his perfect Kyungsoo.

“Well if you want to impress him, you will have to try harder, and obviously you can’t make it by your own and I really can’t sleep peacefully every Saturday night if you will keep on trying and sitting the fire alarm off, and believe me, after my Saturday meetings with my mother I really need to sleep, so come on I’m offering you a great deal here”

He IS offering him a great deal, Baekhyun might not say it out loud but he really is terrible in cooking, the only thing he make in his kitchen is ramen and he can’t make ramen for Kyungsoo, he’s classier than that and he would not be able to make him something edible without help.

“Ok, let’s say that I accept your offer, what is it to you? Other than the soundless sleep on Saturday night?” Deep down, Baekhyun knew that it was too generous offer and it’s hard to believe that his neighbour who hardly knew would waste his precious time to help him.

“Um, I’m not sure if it’s okay to say this but….”

“Just say it already, we are in this weird situation because of you, nothing you will say would make it weirder” Baekhyun insisted.

Chanyeol was stuttering, he himself was not sure of what he was going to say. “Umm, I was thinking, uh, I will teach you how to cook and help you with it in exchange of uh, going on a date with me”

+++

Baekhyun woke up late the following day, the events from last night played in his mind from the moment he opened his eyes

_“...go on a date with me”_

_Baekhyun widened his eyes on him, not sure how to respond, “uhm, didn’t you listen to me just now, I already like someone, and you offer to help me get this someone”_

_“I know, I know, and I will help you with that, what I am asking is just a fake date, one fake date, so I can convince my mother that I can date and I have a social life, unlike what she’s presuming. Please, she’s been forcing me to spend every Saturday with her while she shows me picture of girls and guys that I have zero interest in them”_

_Baekhyun still didn’t get why the taller is asking him this, “why don’t you try dating for real then, if she’s that desperate to get you in a relationship?”_

_“That’s the problem, she won’t believe that I’m comfortable like this, if I want to date I will do it on my base, yet she still think that I need her help with that”_

_“Uhm, I don’t know Chanyeol, this is weird, what if she found out?”_

_“She won’t” Chanyeol replied confidently._

_“And why is that?” Baekhyun asked._

_“You are basically my type” he shrugged._

_Baekhyun felt his cheeks redden from the unexpected compliment, “a-are you trying to make a move on me right now!!”_

_“What? No, don’t worry, I won’t, I really am not up for relationship, I’m just saying, visual wise, you are my type so mom won’t be suspicious about us and will leave me alone if she saw us together.” Chanyeol started yawning, “look, think about it, one fake date in front of my mother and you will have your exclusive chef tutor to help you win this Kyungsoo guy’s heart” he yawned again, “I will leave you now before I black out in the middle of your kitchen, and you, think about what I said, give me your answer tomorrow, ok?”_

Then he left after exchanging contact numbers with Baekhyun, he couldn’t sleep after the taller left, he thought about his proposition until he fall asleep without decision, but then, when he woke up, he remembered Kyungsoo’s adorable smile when he talks about cooking and knew that he need all the possible help to achieve what he wanted, so he got his phone and searched the newly added number to update him with his decision.

To: Chanyeol  
I’m in.  
at 1:36 p.m.

His phone vibrated after a few minutes.

From: Chanyeol  
Next Saturday at 2:00 p.m.  
at 1:48 p.m.

To: Chanyeol  
?  
at 1:49 p.m.

From: Chanyeol  
Fake lunch date with mom.  
at 1:52 p.m.

To: Chanyeol  
How about cooking, when are you helping me?  
at 1:53 p.m.

From: Chanyeol  
Now.  
at 1:55 p.m.

As soon as he received the last text there was knocks on his doors, he stared at his phone then at the door not believing his neighbour’s way of thinking, first barge in his apartment in the middle of the night to stop him from cooking (and burning the whole place but Baekhyun will never admit that), and now invite himself over and apply the invitation immediately (even though he’s coming to help Baekhyun, but again he will never admit it).

+++

“Why are you knocking when there is a doorbell?”

Chanyeol shrugged and continued his way to the shorter kitchen acting as if he owned the place, “irrelevant, let us focus on the task at hand,” he opened Baekhyun’s refrigerator and started surveying what’s in there.

“Hey that’s rude, you don’t barge in other people’s kitchen without permission!” baekhyun pointed, the taller closed the refrigerator and faced him back with his arms crossed and a disappointed look on his face.

“Your refrigerator is almost empty, how are planning on cooking with nothing”

“Well, I bought few things yesterday but some giant jerk ruined it for me”

“Oh please, you know your effort will end in failure anyway, that reminds me, why were you trying to make crème brûlée in the first place, wouldn’t be easier if you started with something simpler”

Baekhyun sighed, “I tried to make Kimchi spaghetti in the first time but I changed my mind into dessert”

“Why is that?” the taller was getting curious,

Baekhyun blushed upon remembering his reasons, “well Kyungsoo is famous for his yummy Kimchi spaghetti so I thought I could impress him with his favourite dish but I gave up when I realize I could never make it half as delicious as his Kimchi spaghetti”

“So you moved into desserts” Chanyeol was still surveying his kitchen and checking every ingredient and utensil in there.

Baekhyun’s face lighten up suddenly, “oh yeah it’s really good idea, you see, Kyungsoo mentioned once that his weakness point is desserts, he doesn’t enjoy making them but he likes them nonetheless so it’s the perfect idea to confess to him over sweets, right?”

“It is, but did you really have to choose a tricky dessert like crème brûlée, you know simplicity is the best, couldn’t you think of easier things, like cookies or something?

“No, I want to make something classy to impress him, besides, cookies are dumb”

“Says who?”

“Says me”

“Someone dumb you mean, cookies are cute, it would suit you”

“I really don’t get how you insult me _and_ compliment me in the same sentence, are you going to teach me how to make desserts or what?”

“I will I will, but first let’s organize our agenda, first,” he raised one finger and Baekhyun rolled his eyes at the demanding tone but kept quiet, “we will cancel crème brûlée, second, we will make cookies” he grinned at the shorter.

“Ugh, fine, but if Kyungsoo didn’t like it; I will tell your mother that you are impotent” he grinned back at Chanyeol who choked on the water bottle he freely took from the fridge and started coughing.

“w-what, are you crazy or something, you don’t say to other people’s mother that their son will not be able to give them grandchildren, besides, we will not make cookies for your Kyungsoo”

“We won’t?” Baekhyun asked confused.

“No, we won’t, we will make it today as a first lesson in baking”

“But I don’t want to learn how to bake, I only want to make ONE kind of sweets that will make Kyungsoo accept my love” he whined at the taller feeling lazy already.

“You won’t be able to make that _one_ sweet correctly if you didn’t have a general idea about the whole thing, so come on let’s move the lesson to my apartment, your kitchen is miserable with these black stains on your wall, if I’m going to help you, we will do it in my kitchen, ok?” he throw his empty bottle and left the kitchen.

“Fine” Baekhyun answered defeatedly before his stomach growled, he woke up late as usual and didn’t get time to eat. Chanyeol started moving to the door.

“Chanyeol wait, I didn’t have breakfast, let me eat first, I’m starving.”

Chanyeol looked back at him then said, “fine, eat then come to my apartment, I’ll prepare the ingredients we will need while you finish eating, don’t be late, bye”

+++

After 45 minutes, Baekhyun managed to take a quick shower, make himself some ramen and finish it before he go up to Chanyeol’s apartment. He was about to ring the doorbell when he remembered his neighbour’s silly habit and decided to do the same so he knocked on the door and waited for the owner to open. Chanyeol opened the door while wearing an apron that made Baekhyun burst into a non-stoppable giggling.

“What the hell are you wearing?” he couldn’t stop laughing at the giant guy wearing an apron that has rilakkuma paintings all over it.

“Oh shut up and follow me, close the door behind you, oh and I advise you not to laugh too much coz you will be wearing your own apron very soon”

“But I don’t have one, and I thought that we will make some cookies, not some kind of a feast, why the aprons?” Baekhyun followed him to the kitchen where he found flour, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients on the table along with all the needed equipments.

Chanyeol faced him with a serious face before saying, “In my kitchen, safety and sanitation come first, so go on wash your hands and I will get you your apron.”

Baekhyun obeyed defeatedly and washed his hands thoroughly and wiped them with the towel he found by the sink, when he turned to Chanyeol, he found him holding another apron for him to wear, another questionable apron if he must say.

“Chanyeol, what is this?” he pointed at the apron the taller is holding.

“Your apron, be lucky that I have an extra one, or I would have forced to go buy your own before we start.”

“But that has paintings of the bunny from the Line App, seriously what is it with you and these childish aprons, you are too giant for this, you look ridiculous with it.” he started laughing again at the giant wearing a rilakkuma apron and holding another silly apron.

“First of all, this _bunny_ called Cony, and like I told you before; don’t laugh too much because you will wear it whether you like it or not, or else you will never be able to bake” the taller smirked at him and it looked surprisingly good on him, despite the childish aprons.

“Fine, fine, man you are really mean today”

He moved to take the apron but Chanyeol was faster and pulled him to put the apron on him, Baekhyun blushed at the sudden contact and stayed still while the other finished tying the robes of his apron, he stepped away and looked at him up and down then nodded appreciatively, “There, you look really cute, just like a bunny”

“S-shut up” Baekhyun stuttered not getting why he’s feeling nervous.

Chanyeol didn’t look like he noticed or if he did then he was able to not show it, they moved to the table to start their mission, Chanyeol explain everything on the table to Baekhyun before they start.

“What should I do” Baekhyun asked excitedly, more than ready to forget about their previous contact.

“I already added some salt and baking soda to the flour here, so now you will mix the rest of the ingredients before we mix them together, ok?” Baekhyun nodded and Chanyeol started to add butter, eggs, brown and white sugar into another bowl then asked him to mix it handing him a mixer spoon.

“Hmm, I thought we will use the electronic mixer” he asked while pointing at the electronic machines at a corner of the kitchen.

“Nope, with you we will keep it as safe as possible, I don’t trust you with anything complicated” Chanyeol waved the mixer spoon in front of his face to take it.

“Chanyeooool, come on I don’t want to mix, it’s tiring” he pouted and batted his eyelashes at the taller hoping that he will fell on his trap.

“You know you look like puppy when you do that,” Chanyeol’s eyes shined and he smirked at him, “a puppy wearing a bunny apron.” then he laughed at the shorter leaving him to deepening his pout after his failed attempt.

“Aw come on, don’t be like that, I’m trying to help you here, listen, how about that, start mixing and if you felt tired I will take over, what do you say?” Chanyeol tried again hoping to wipe the adorable pout from the other’s face or else he will not be able to focus on helping him.

Baekhyun fist pump inwardly because in the end his plan worked, he acted neutral and took the spoon from the other and started mixing, Chanyeol kept quiet and watched him mixing, he throw a few comments every now and then until he himself offered to take over, reasoning that Baekhyun was damaging the mixture with his weak mixing, he asked him though to add the flour while he mix. After the mixture was done, he told him that they will add chocolate chips to the dough now and Baekhyun was more than ready to handle this fun task, when he was done, he scooped a small dough of it by his finger without Chanyeol’s noticing and put it on his mouth but Chanyeol saw him at the end and started scolding him about sanitary and baking ethics, he rolled his eyes at the taller and tried to make him taste the dough as well.

“Baekhyun, when you bake or cook you never taste the food before you start cooking it, or baking it in our case, hey, get your dirty hands off of me, stop” Baekhyun was trying to stuff the dough on his fingers in the other’s mouth.

“Ow, come on try it, it’s really yummy” he tried again but this time Chanyeol holded both of his hands and managed to stop him from reaching his mouth, but that didn’t stop Baekhyun from reaching his face where he wiped his fingers on his cheek.

“Oops” Baekhyun grinned at him, showing that he was not regretting what he did at all, so Chanyeol surprised him when he scooped a small amount of the dough and spread it on his nose.

“What happen to ‘sanitation in my kitchen’” Baekhyun asked while he tried to clean his nose but the other still had his hands in a solid grip.

“That was before you play with the food you little man, besides you look silly with the dough on your nose” Chanyeol laughed loudly at him and the shorter took advantage and removed his hands from the other’s grip and was about to take another dough from the bowl but Chanyeol took the bowl and moved it up and away from the shorter’s reach.

“Hey now, you puppy bunny, behave, no more playing with food, step away” he instructed Baekhyun while holding the bowl above his hands. Baekhyun surprisingly did as he was told and grumped at the end of the table.

Chanyeol chuckled lowly at the cute act and put the bowl back then he went to get a baking tray and spread a layer of butter in it before he turned back to the sulky puppy who still has a dough on his nose, “come on, I’m sorry, let’s wipe your nose and finish this cookies ok”

He took a tissue and moved to wipe his nose but Baekhyun stopped him and snatched the tissue from him, “get off, jerk, I can wipe it myself”

“Jeez, fine, fine, come on now let’s finish this, so we can enjoy our first masterpiece”

Baekhyun forgot about their earlier fight and his eyes sparkled, “We will eat the cookies today?”

“Of course we will, who will eat it then, come here,” this time Baekhyun obeyed immediately, “here, use this spoon and scoop a full spoon every time into the tray, I will go turn on the oven” he went to do what he said and came back to observe Baekhyun with the dough, after that he took the tray to put it in the oven.

“It will take around 15 minutes to get done,” he pulled Baekhyun to the kitchen island to sit there while waiting for their cookies.

They sat in a comfortable silence until Baekhyun decided to say what he has in mind, “listen Chanyeol, thank you for helping me with this, although you’re being super mean, you are really helpful, so thank you”

“You mean a dedicated teacher, well you are very welcome”

“Uhm, no I meant super mean teacher, also jerk yeah.” he rolled his eyes at him.

“You will never learn if I sugar coat everything, you need solid instructions for you to learn.”

“You are just a giant sadistic who enjoy bullying others.”

“Nope I just enjoy bullying puppies who wear bunnies’ apron.” he smirked at him.

“Then I take my thank you back you giant jerk.”

+++

They continued bickering for the remaining 15 minutes, after that, Chanyeol fetched the cookies from the tray and put them in a plate, then poured two glass of milk for him and Baekhyun. They moved to the living room so they can devour their freshly made cookies with their milk. The both of them were content with the result of the cookies and their mood went up with it, so they managed to start a normal conversation without insulting each other.

“What do you want to make for Kyungsoo, do you have anything in mind?” Chanyeol asked him suddenly.

“Hmm, not really, I just want to make him the perfect dessert.” he mumbled through the cookie his munching.

“Do you like him this much?”

“Of course, or else, I would never think of cooking, I really want to show him how much effort I could put up for him.” he felt shy when he was expressing his feeling to someone else this openly, but Chanyeol gave him the impression that he can say what he has in mind without worrying for the other to get him wrong.

Chanyeol stared at him until he felt his cheeks heat up from the intense look the other was giving him, “Well he would be a foul if he rejected you.”

“You think so?” he turned at Chanyeol surprised from the sudden comment.

“Yup, so don’t worry, we will think of the perfect dessert and I will teach you until you became ready. That reminds me, when do you want us to practise, since you are a night person, we can practise after I finish from my paper work for school which is usually at 7:00 p.m., is that ok with you?”

“Oh but I work a late shift, so I usually finish at 8:00 p.m.” He replied sadly.

“No problem, we can meet at 8:30 for the next week, what do you say?” Chanyeol offered again as if it’s not a big deal

“But Chanyeol, isn’t that too much for you, I don’t want to be burden” He felt embarrassed from the other’s generous offer.

“Obviously you don’t realize how much you’re gonna be helping me when you do this fake date with me, believe me we will be considered equal after that.” he shuddered remembering his mother’s constant nagging for him to date and meet new people.

“Speaking of your mom, are you sure she’s gonna buy it, what if she got angry at you for seeing a guy?”

“Don’t worry about that, she’s gonna be happy whether I’m dating a girl or a guy, what matters for her is that I have someone in my life and I’m not all alone.” he concluded, they finished their cookies and milk so he collected the empty dishes to wash them, Baekhyun followed him.

“But really, why can’t you meet people in a normal why, instead of tricking your mother.” although Chanyeol was being mean to him, he can’t lie that he find the guy extremely charming, so he will not have any problem with dating for real.

“Oh please don’t start, what I hear from mom is enough, besides, I don’t have problem with meeting new people like what she’s assuming, I’m just not in the mood to date, my work is exhausting enough” Baekhyun remembered him mentioning that he’s an elementary teacher when he first met him and he couldn’t agree more on the exhaustion part, he felt lucky to work as an interior designer where he can focus on his work without any noise.

They parted with the promise of meeting tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. like what they discussed and Chanyeol advised him to throw some hints to Kyungsoo when he see him next time to figure out what kind of sweets he liked and they can work from there, Baekhyun told him that he will not be able to see Kyungsoo tomorrow so the taller told him to contact him then whenever he got an idea about the perfect dessert so they can start their mission.

+++

The thing is, Baekhyun never had a decent conversation with the cute chef, despite knowing him from college days, they had the same circle of friends at the time but they never spend one on one alone time together, there were always another friend with them, although Baekhyun never felt awkward with anyone, he still couldn’t get closer to Kyungsoo, with time, he developed deeper feelings for the other and before he knew it, he had a crush on him but they were graduating and he was still feeling awkward. He would either shy away and cut their conversation as soon as possible or act like a total fool, teasing the chef and bother him with silly jokes until Kyungsoo get tired of him and ask him to leave him alone which was not helping him at all. He is always thankful to his best friend Jongdae whom has a good relationship with Kyungsoo and tagged him along with all their meetings, even if that meant dealing with Jongdae's endless teasing.

“Hey Baek, how’s your cooking going on, burnt anything lately?” Jongdae asked him while wiggling his eyebrows, they were editing some layouts for a new design on Monday and Jongdae was surprised that his friend didn’t mention any incident in his apartment like the last two weeks.

“My cooking is going very well, thank you very much and no I haven’t burnt anything, seriously aren’t you having a little bit too fun at my problems, what kind of a friend are you” he continued his editing and tried to ignore jongdae as much as possible but he knew that that would be impossible, especially if his friend is bored and don’t want them to work in silence.

“Do you really want me to believe that your cooking is going well, come on I’m your best friend, even your ramen sucks”

“Hey, my ramen is super yummy, you just have a disgusting taste, or who adds cucumbers into every dish they make, disgusting”

“I don’t put cucumbers when you are eating with me, see, good friend right here, so come on be a good friend and tell me how badly you did this weekend?” by now he left his work board and faced Baekhyun completely.

“Nothing bad happened, in fact, I made cookies” he grinned at his friend but continued working on his board, unlike his friend, he has times for lazing around and times for work, and his mood was great when he woke up this morning so he was ready to finish more than one layout.

Jongdae stared at him questionably, “Edible cookies?” he asked him again.

“Screw you Jongdae, can’t you have the slightest faith in me, yes edible yummy cookies, and before you say anything that was not my opinion alone, even Chanyeol liked them and ate as much as I did”

“Who’s Chanyeol?”

“Oh, one of my neighbours, he offered to teach my how to cook so ‘I don’t set the whole building’, his words not mine” he rolled his eyes as he remembered his neighbour’s exaggeration, “all the incidents I caused are barely count as incidents yet he insists that me in kitchen alone is a big no”

“Well I can’t say I don’t agree with him, the guy has a point,” Baekhyun throw a ruler at his friend which the later avoided it easily and continued, “but that’s really nice of him, god knows how hard it is to teach you”

Baekhyun found it a generous offer also but he would never admit it to his best friend and he most definitely will not tell him about the favour Chanyeol asked him to do in exchange of helping him, not that he was doing something extremely wrong but he didn’t need to give his friend more information to make fun of him more than he already do so he brushed Jongdae’s comment off and ignored him until the later presume working on his board, until he distracted himself again.

“Wait Baek, you’re gonna make cookies for your confession, that’s lame man, he already think of you as that weird childish friend, you don’t need to confirm that”

“Wow thank you for boosting my confidence, I really needed that, I almost forget that Kyungsoo sees me like that, thank you Jongdae” he replied sarcastically but deep down he knew that his friend was right, he really looked like a weird childish friend in front of the chef.

“Oh come on, don’t be a drama queen, you know I’m on your side here, or I wouldn’t bother Kyungsoo all the time about how a great guy you are, which you really are, don’t get me wrong, but you don’t help yourself back and act crazy in front of him, that or you freeze on your spot and then run away with stupid excuses” his friend turned serious this time, showing how he’s really concerned about his friend.

“I know I know, it’s completely my fault but I can’t help it Jongdae-ah, he is so cute, I get extremely nervous every time I see him and I mess up terribly” his mood earlier went down now upon remembering his communication problem with the chef.

“Well that’s why you decided to cook for him, right? You must do it right, not make cookies for him”

“I know, I never said that I will make him cookies, that was Chanyeol’s idea, he wanted to teach me something simple first, now that I think about it, I feel that he just had a cookies craving and wanted to slave me around, that f*cking giant”

“Oh you are on the insulting each other base, interesting.” He did the stupid eyebrow wiggling again.

“Oh shut up, he’s just helping me out, but happens to be really mean since I disturbed his beauty sleep twice when-”

Jongdae interrupted him, “when you set the fire alarm and everyone got mad at you, how can I forget.” then he started laughing.

Baekhyun glared at him, “as I was saying, he’s helping me out, but I still didn’t decided on what to make for Kyungsoo, Chanyeol asked me to figure out what kind of sweets he likes but I have no idea and I can’t directly ask him” then he turned to his friend with his eyes shining, “hey, can we meet him this week, then you can ask him in an indirect way?”

“I don’t know man, I was planning on working over time this week to finish my edits on the designs”

“Please.” cue Baekhyun’s infamous puppy eyes and batting eyelashes, he knew his friend can’t say no to that.

Jongdae tried to stay still and not be affected but Baekhyun pouted and started to whimper like the puppy he really is, “Ugh, I hate you when you do that, fine, fine, I will call him now”

Baekhyun smiled victoriously and waited for Jongdae to finish his call, after he hanged up, he informed him that Kyungsoo is free on wednesday so they can meet then, after that he chose to focus on his board and Baekhyun left him and got back to work as well, but not before he updated Chanyeol about his planned meeting which the later replied after a couple of hours reminding him to get an idea about what the chef likes so they can work on it on Thursday.

+++

To: Chanyeol  
Chanyeol I can’t do it, he IS sweet, how can I ask him what kind of sweet he likes without telling him that he’s my favourite kind of sweet, I can’t.  
at 7:53 p.m.

Help

At 8:02 p.m.

It was a Wednesday night and they met with Kyungsoo in a small bar next to the restaurant he works at. Jongdae was being the helpful friend he is and as usual he tried to engage the other in a conversation together but all his attempts failed because his best friend kept staring at his phone and Kyungsoo kept talking about a new problematic waiter who just worked on their restaurant this week and managed to get into Kyungsoo’s bad side from the first day, so in the end Jongdae listened to him quietly and kept nudging his idiot friend who wouldn’t budge and couldn't tear his eyes from his phone.

After several minutes, Chanyeol finally replied to him.

From: Chanyeol

Ew gross man, I almost puked in my mouth from your disgusting cheesiness, don’t ever do that again.

at 8:21 p.m.

To: Chanyeol

Well I can’t help it, I’m freaking out right now and Jongdae gave up on helping me, what to do~ Chanyeoool~ 

at 8:22 p.m.

From: Chanyeol

Jeez, alright, don’t say anything dumb, we will think about that later, go back to your little date and stop disturbing me.

at 8:30 p.m.

Baekhyun stuffed his phone on his pocket defeatedly and decided to keep quiet and listen to his two friends, it wasn’t bad as he enjoyed listening to Kyungsoo’s velvety voice even if he was talking about crasctaning someone in work, he didn’t care, he was whipped, and he will always see Kyungsoo as a beautiful angel. Their meeting end up as usual with Jongdae trying many time to get Baekhyun into a conversation with Kyungsoo which the former will say something really dumb and would laugh at his own dumb joke, Kyungsoo would narrow his eyes at him then signed and change the subject.

+++

Baekhyun met with Chanyeol the day after like they promised although both of them had no idea what to do, so they spent it in the taller apartment eating dinner, made by him, Baekhyun finally got why the taller was so confident in his cooking skills, the guy knew how to cook, his food is almost as delicious as Kyungsoo’s, but he will never admit that. He told him though about the event yesterday, Chanyeol of course made fun of him but still promised him that they will figure something out. 

“You have to help me, you promised to teach me how to make sweets to get my own sweet boy” he grinned at his silly flirtatious comment.

“Baekhyun! I told you cut out of the cheese, you are disgusting me again” Baekhyun laughed at him not minding the insult, he deserved it anyway.

“Hey, speaking of cheese, do you like cheesecake?” Chanyeol asked him suddenly.

“Of course I do, everybody likes cheesecake.” Chanyeol’s eyes sparkled mischievously.

At first, Baekhyun didn’t get what he’s implying, but then his eyes widen at the resolution, “Chanyeol, this is perfect, cheesecake are the ultimate perfect dessert, we can make cheesecake right? Wait you know how to make it? Never mind we can look it up then-”

“Hey less excitement, ok? And don’t worry I know how to make cheesecake,” he chuckled at the excited puppy in front of him, “tell you what, we can go grocery shopping on Saturday and I will teach you how to make it after that, what do you say?”

“Sounds good, wait weren’t we supposed to meet your mother?” he totally forget about the other part of their deal, not that he’s intending to back out, but he was still nervous by the whole fake date.

“Oh I forgot to tell you, turns out, mom has other plans this Saturday, the irony! She’s been bothering me every Saturday, and when I finally have someone I’m willing to date, she gets busy.” he chuckled at the weird coincidence.

Baekhyun on the other hand was blushing deeply, when Chanyeol looked at him questionable he cleared his throat, “uh you said you have someone you are willing to date, y-you mean fake date, hahaha” he tried to laugh it off to calm his face from heating up because the taller kept on staring at him without saying anything, “Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol teared his eyes from, “that’s what I said.”

“Uhm, you said someone you are willing to date”

“No, I said fake date, listen carefully next time”

“But..” he chose to brush it off because he wasn’t sure why he was insisting on confirming what the other _mistakingly_ said.

+++

So Baekhyun found himself on a Saturday afternoon with his neighbour at the local supermarket near their apartments, ready to get everything they need for their cheesecake.

“So what kind of cheesecake would you like us to make?” Chanyeol asked him as he holds a cart and starts shopping.

“Strawberry cheesecake! I love strawberries” he answered excitedly.

“Of course you like strawberries.” Chanyeol smirked at him and started picking up few things and put them in their cart.

“Hey, what does that supposed to mean?”

“It’s a known fact, all cuties like strawberries” he shrugged his compliment once again, leaving Baekhyun blushing behind him.

“Chanyeol, you have to stop calling me cute, that’s gay”

“Says the guy who has a crush on a fellow guy, but fine, I will not call you cute anymore, I will call you puppy.” his giant neighbour smirked at him and ignored his protests. They continued shopping with Chanyeol telling him why they need every item they got in their cart, “You see Baekhyun, what’s really great about cheesecake is that you don’t need to bake, you just put it in the refrigerator until it’s ready to be served, this way you don’t need to use the oven and set your kitchen on fire” he started laughing but Baekhyun stopped him quickly.

“You mean we will not bake?”

“Yup, you can make cheesecake without baking, there is of course other recipes for baked cheesecake, but I think it’s better for us to-”

“We will do the baked one” Baekhyun interrupted him determinedly.

“Why, come on Baekhyun, I like the non-baked one better and why can’t you try the easier one for you, why the trouble?” Chanyeol asked him, frustrated at the shorter’s determination.

“But I want the trouble, or else how would Kyungsoo know that I made the effort to make something for him, please Chanyeol, let us do the baked one” 

Chanyeol groaned defeatedly. “Ugh, fine, we will need eggs then, go get them while I go to the cashier”

They left the supermarket with armful of grocery that Baekhyun gladly payed for, even though most of it will stay in Chanyeol’s kitchen; it was for him so he refused that the taller pay for anything. They went ahead to Chanyeol’s apartment and started their little mission.

+++

“Mmm, Chanyeol this is really good, I must say I underrated you the whole time.” the both of them were enjoying the cheesecake they (Chanyeol) made and Baekhyun was nearly moaning over how good is it.

“I know but I still like the non-baked one better”

“Well we are not making it for you, are we?”

“Unfortunately.” he pouted behind his slice of cheesecake and the act throw Baekhyun off, he never, in his life, saw a pout so cute on a body so giant like the one in front of him, his hand moved on its own and before he knew it, he smeared a piece of cheesecake on the latter's surprisingly adorable pout. The act made them both freeze on their spot, staring at each other and Baekhyun could only hope that his heated cheeks were not as red as the other’s ears. Suddenly, Chanyeol smiled evilly at him.

“You know this is war right” and before he knew it, there was strawberry sauce smudged on his nose, and the taller burst of laughter at him.

“Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol was still laughing and running away from him, “oh come on, you look like an adorable Santa Claus with your red nose”

“Well, you on the other hand look stupid with your white moustache” they stopped running around since they both were at fault and looked for something to wipe their faces.

“Well you know who else has a white moustache? Santa Claus~” Chanyeol singsong while he resumed their little war.

“DON’T YOU DARE!”

+++

They baked cheesecakes every day and ate them for dinner, no matter how unhealthy it was and they probably gain more weight on the process but they kept their routine with Baekhyun taking in charge gradually, and by the fourth day, he was able to make it all by himself without the help of Chanyeol who stand by the side watching him closely in case he needed any help which he fortunately didn’t, when they first took the first bite, they shared a look then started dancing around in victory.

“I did it Chanyeol I did it” he jumped like a little boy and Chanyeol couldn’t help but to pinch his nose playfully.

“Yes you did it, you are ready to confess now”

Baekhyun forgot about the confession, he totally forgot, he focused on baking alone, he forgot that he’s doing it to impress someone else by his baking skills and not the giant in front of him who was still smiling affectionately at him. He was confused by his own thoughts, the whole time he was baking cheesecake after cheesecake, never once he thought about Kyungsoo and what would he do if he accept his confession, he just wanted to make Chanyeol proud, which was ridiculous, the taller is only helping him out, he don’t need to impress him, but the butterflies in his stomach is telling him otherwise, the amount of sugar he ate these past days is making him see things and feel stupid things that he shouldn’t be feeling. He tried to block Chanyeol’s blinding smile and recall Kyungsoo’s beautiful heart shaped smile but he couldn’t block Chanyeol’s smile, it was so blinding, was it always like this, he’s not sure but he knows he don’t need to think about these kind of things right now.

“Yeah, I think our mission is almost done.” he tried to smile back at Chanyeol but his smile didn’t reach his eyes because what he’s saying is piercing him in the gut, he don’t want to be done, he was having so much fun spending time with the giant, now he can’t come knocking on his door any time he want and barge in his apartment and act as if it’s his own, he felt so comfortable with him these few days until he forgot that they had a deal of somehow.

The sudden realisation made him upset but Chanyeol pulled him out of his thoughts when he replied, “Uh uh, not so fast, we have our fake date with mom this Saturday” and he had to wink to make it even more confusing to Baekhyun.

“O-of course, yeah sure, whatever.” he shrugged as if it’s not a big deal.

“So, when are you confessing?” Chanyeol asked him suddenly when they were eating his first cheesecake doing his blinding smile again and the butterflies jumped in Baekhyun's stomach one more time, so he placed his plate down losing his appetite from the butterflies that are disturbing his stomach and not leaving space for anything else.

“Not sure, I will ask for Jongdae’s help of course, but maybe on Sunday, oh and Jongdae is my best friend by the way”

“Yeah, you mentioned him few times before, so that’s actually perfect it will be after our date-”

“FAKE DATE” he corrected him quickly before he himself start to think of it as a real one.

“Umm yeah fake date, anyway yeah we will be done by then, but you have to tell me how it goes, ok? Wait, are you sure you will remember the recipe by Sunday? Should we practice again?”

“Oh believe me, it engraved in my mind from how many times we baked it these past days.” the taller laughed lightly in agreement, even his small laugh is blinding, Baekhyun never noticed that he has a cute little dimple on his left cheek until now.

“Then I guess I will see you on Saturday.” Chanyeol talked and got him out of his creepy observation. He felt embarrassed of his previous thoughts so he coughed to distract himself from his embarrassment.

“I guess you will” and with that, he left Chanyeol’s apartment faster than any time before.

+++

Baekhyun woke up early morning on Saturday for the first time in his life, not to mention, he spent the night turning right and left, thinking about their ‘fake date’. For the past couple of days, Baekhyun tried to avoid Chanyeol as much as possible, so he can sort out his thoughts and cleared his mind. Chanyeol is his friend now and he shouldn’t feel sad that the agreement is close to end, he admit, he got a little bit attached to the taller, he enjoyed spending time with him, even if that contained of Chanyeol bossing him around in the kitchen, he still had fun with him and deep down, he didn’t want that to end, whatever that is.

He changed his outfit three times until he settled to an acceptable choice by his opinion which was a light blue sweater with a white dress shirt underneath and a khaki pants, he admits he looks good in blue so he felt confident which helped him ease his nervousness. He knew it’s just a fake date, but Chanyeol’ mom doesn’t know that and somehow he wanted to impress her. He also wanted to help Chanyeol faithfully since he was willing to teach him for two weeks nonstop. Chanyeol texted him the day before that he will pick him up at 1:45 p.m. and head to the restaurant where they agreed to meet his mom.

There was knocks on his door at 1:40 p.m. and his heart speed up a little bit as he reached to open the door, to his and Chanyeol’s surprised, they were wearing similar outfit, except Chanyeol’s sweater was orange, other than that they matched, the thought made Baekhyun shiver a little bit but he managed not to show it.

“Well hello there beautiful, aren’t we looking couply already” Chanyeol smirked at him as he noticed the matching outfits and Baekhyun had the urge to punch the smirk off of his face, it looked so good to be there.

“Easy there tiger, save the flirting for when we meet your mom” he smirked back and went out with him after he locked his apartment. They took the elevator and Baekhyun noticed the other staring at him, “what?”

“You are wearing eyeliner” he was still staring and the smirk from before is back.

“So what? I look good with it” he tried to hide his blush but couldn’t, so he directed his eyes on the monitor showing the floors they are passing.

“You do, you look really handsome Baekhyun, thank you for doing this for me” Baekhyun turned back to him and was surprised to see his giant neighbour’s ears reddening.

Baekhyun didn’t want to miss those large ears, along with their owner, he didn’t want them to go back to being a mere neighbors, it’s stupid, he felt like crying and he’s mad at himself, because even after the past days of avoiding the giant, his thought about him is still messy, he didn’t want to miss him. God damn it.

“Chanyeol don’t thank me, but let us be friends, I, I don’t want to go back to being just your neighbour, I know our deal is almost ending, but, I mean, let’s be friends” he was blubbering, he was aware of that but he needed to fill the uncomfortable silences and block his own thoughts.

Chanyeol chuckled at him, “you know, you really look like a cute puppy, but don’t worry, we are already friends or did you really thought that you can get rid of me now, of course not, I still have to keep an eye on you so you won’t set our building on fire”

“Ugh, screw you, can’t you forgot about that already, but um yeah you are right, we are friends” and for the first time that day he smiled genuinely at his friend, his eyes disappearing from the smile along with his worries.

+++

They arrived before Chanyeol’s mother which was perfect, they needed to prepare.

“Hey, don’t flinch if I touched you during our meal, mom will be expecting some skin ship, so we have to make it as normal as possible.” Chanyeol told him when they sit on a table waiting for his mother.

“Oh, ok” he didn’t even think about these things and that made him more nervous than before.

“Hey, hey, why are you nervous, there is nothing to be nervous about, you will just meet her once and that’s it, you don’t even need to impress her, relax” Chanyeol batted his back and that calmed him down a little bit.

“Ok, uh, what kind of skin ship we are talking about here, you know, so I prepare myself” Baekhyun asked him.

“I don’t know maybe hold hands or I might hold your waist or rest my hand on your thigh” he winked at Baekhyun smugly.

“You just want to feel me up, admit it” he deepened at Chanyeol who laughed loudly.

“Maybe I am, you are welcome to do the same you know” he smirked at Baekhyun but his smirked was quickly gone when he looked at the door opening, “oh shit there she is” Chanyeol waved at a middle aged women how looked really sweet from a far, Baekhyun took a deep breath and stand with Chanyeol to greet the lady coming their way.

“Channie, there you are, I was stuck in the parking lot.” she hugged her son then turned to Baekhyun, the smile never leaving her face and Baekhyun knew from where did Chanyeol got his warm smile.

“And you must be Baekhyun”

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Park” he bowed at her but she suddenly pulled him in a warm hug, he froze in her arms looking at Chanyeol asking for help but he was laughing at him, giant jerk.

“Oh please no need to be so formal with me sweetie” then she pulled away to look at him, “let me look at you, what a cute young man, I can see what my son sees in you” she winked at her son who flushed in embarrassment.

“M-mom, you are making Baekhyun uncomfortable” he pulled Baekhyun to his side and put his arm on his shoulder, and as if it wasn’t enough, he started to rub Baekhyun’s arm then massaged the back of his neck lightly before he rested his arm on Baekhyun's shoulder again. Baekhyun wanted to freak out from the amount of nervousness he’s feeling but managed to look comfortable as if he’s used to Chanyeol being all over him.

“Aw look at you, getting jealous from your own mother, my adorable baby,” Mrs. Park cooed at her son, “come on, sit down let’s order quickly so you can tell me everything.” she pulled them to sit down and after they order their lunch she started again, “So tell me, how did you meet, I must say, I didn’t believe you when you told me that you are dating, you never showed any interest to anyone I introduce to so I was wondering who managed to steal my baby’s heart”

+++

Despite it all, Baekhyun had a great time watching the taller embarrassed from his mother’s enthusiasm and how his cute ears had a permanent redness to them. Yet, Baekhyun couldn’t help but blush deeply at the attention Mrs. Park was giving him, she kept on complimenting him about how cute and pretty he is, and how Chanyeol must be really lucky to get to date him, needless to say, he was overwhelmed by her kindness, their meeting turned out nothing like what he imagined.

They told Mrs. Park about their first meeting and their second first meeting which was after the first fire alarm, Baekhyun glared at Chanyeol when he talked about the fire alarms and Baekhyun’s cooking skill, but he was glad that Mrs. Park took his side and order her son to take good care of him and cook for him. They only hide the fact that Baekhyun is trying to cook to confess his love to someone other than her son, other than that, they didn’t need to make up lies or stories to convince her that they are dating which was good, in a questionable way.

Throughout the meal, Chanyeol did just what he mentioned before regarding their skin ship, hold his hand, hold his waist, and rested his hand on his thigh, but surprisingly enough, Baekhyun didn’t feel uncomfortable or thought it was awkward or weird, he was relaxed as if they were used to this, and before he knew it, he was initiating some of the skinship himself, like touching Chanyeol’s biceps lightly when he talks to him, he don’t want to admit it but he always found Chanyeol’ arms quite appealing. The taller seemed to be pleasantly happy about the light touches which didn’t go unnoticed by his mother and she didn’t waste the chance to tease the cute couple in front of her.

When they finished their meal and the ice-cream that Mrs. Park offered to buy for them as a celebration of their blossoming relationship, she offered to give them a ride since she came by her care while they used public transportation. When they arrived and get out of her car, she turned to them smiling.

“Ok boys there we are, I had a pleasant time with you Baekhyunnie” he blushed at the affectionate way of saying his name.

“It’s my pleasure Mrs. Park” he bowed at her and when he left his head up, Chanyeol placed his hand on his waist and moved him closer to him, but by now it felt normal.

“Aw what a cute and polite young man, Channie, I think I would punch you in the face if you broke up with this angel, I would like to see him for the long run” and she winked at her son.

“Mom~ stop it, you wanted me to date and there I am, no need to embarrass me” he grumbled like a kid in front of his mother and Baekhyun couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable image in front of him.

“Ok, ok, go on now you love birds, enjoy the rest of your day” she waved at the so called couple and left while they got inside their building and entered the elevator, only then, they realized that Chanyeol’s hand is still rested on Baekhyun's hip, he moved it quickly and Baekhyun blushed deeply at the contact.

“Sorry” Chanyeol apologized quietly.

“It’s fine” he smiled shyly at him.

They fill in an awkward silence until they arrived to Baekhyun’s floor he stepped out and was going to turn back to say goodbye to Chanyeol but found him stepping out with him.

“Chanyeol?”

“Well I know that’s not a real date but let me walk you home” he said bashfully and did as he promised, he walked Baekhyun until his door which was a few steps away from the elevator, they both laughed at the silliness of the situation.

“Well thank you for walking me home, how thoughtful of you” Baekhyun said while smiling brightly at him which made Chanyeol’s face lit up, he looked too adorable like that and Baekhyun hated that he noticed that.

“I had a great time today, thanks to you, mom is happy, you don’t know how much it means to me, thank you Baekhyun”

“I told you, no need to thank me, and I had a great time too, your mother is really nice, so uhm, thank you for giving me the honor to meet her” he said coyly, playing with his key.

Chanyeol stared at him for a few second as if he said something weird, then to his absolute surprise, his neighbour leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, shocking him with it and making his heart skip a beat.

“That was really nice of you to say, thanks again Baekhyun, good luck for tomorrow” and with that he head to the stairs, not even waiting for the elevator to come.

+++

It was Sunday morning, it’s been 16 hours and 23 minutes and his cheek is still burning, his heart's still beating in a questionable speed every time he recall the kiss. Baekhyun didn’t know what to feel any more, he felt confused, he’s thinking too much about his giant neighbour, recalling the dumbest memories they shared for the past couple of weeks. He has already talked to the taller and both of them agreed that they will keep friends, so really, there is no point in thinking about him as if he’s losing him, but he is, it felt like he is, yet he couldn’t figure out why.

He got out of his bed, and went to his kitchen to start making the awaited strawberry cheesecake, his focus on the baking process helped him calm down a little bit, he don’t need any confusing thoughts when he’s going to confess today, he also need to be calm and composed for Kyungsoo to accept his feelings, he needed to prepare what he’s going to say so he don’t mess up.

He left his apartment at noon, strawberry cheesecake in hand, and everything is already planned in his mind, he would present the cheesecake to Kyungsoo and tell him that he learned to bake to be able to show him how much he think about him, how much he want to spend more time with him, how much he want to go out with him and get to know him, that he is the most fascinating person he has ever met and he would be honored if he gave him a chance. He was ready, for the first time, he was ready.

However, it all broke down when he faced Kyungsoo, he still feels nervous, his heart is still skipping a beat by the sight of the chef but he don’t want to think about him, he can’t think about him when someone else is occupying his mind, he don’t want to go out with him, he don’t want to get to know him, he knows him just fine, and he don’t want him to give him a chance, he was not ready, he was freaking out.

“Baek, what’s wrong, you look troubled” Kyungsoo was looking at him in eyes full of worries and it looks cute, it really does.

“I, I made you cheesecake” he pushed the box to the chef’s hands

“You did? Wow Baekhyun I never knew that you are interesting in baking”

“I’m not, I just wanted to do it for you”

“I, I don’t understand”

“Me neither”

“What?”

“I don’t understand this, I don’t understand Soo, I, I like you”

“What?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened more than they already were.

“NO, I don’t think so, I don’t, no I don’t like you” he started shaking his head, he knew he is not making sense but he couldn't help it.

He don’t like Kyungsoo, he can see it now, he never liked him, it was always a childish crush, still was, he never felt messed up thinking about him, not like how he stayed awake last night thinking about a stupid kiss, on the cheek. He don’t like Kyungsoo, he never did and he felt like crying over how stupid he was, all this time he thought he liked the chef in front of him, who was looking at him dumbfoundedly, but he was falling for another chef, a chef wearing a rilakkuma apron, how silly is that.

With the new resolution, he needed to fix the mess he created to himself, and he needed to confess, he woke up today planning to confess and he will do it before he lose his confidence.

“Kyungsoo, you are a wonderful person, I know I never showed it, but I admire you a lot, you are, um, you are my man crush”

“Baekhyun, what the hell are you trying to say?”

“What I am trying to say is that I don’t like you, sorry, but I only like you as a friend”

Kyungsoo gave up on getting what his crazy friend is saying, “well I like you as a friend too” he just smiled warmly at him but for the first time, Baekhyun didn’t sown over the adorable smile, his mind was somewhere else.

“Kyungsoo”

“Yes”

“I’m gonna go confess now”

“....Ok”

“Wish me luck”

Kyungsoo laughed at him but wish him luck anyway, when Baekhyun was on his way to get out, he remembered something so he turned back to the chef, “hey Soo, what’s your favourite dessert?”

“Umm, Crème brûlée, why”

“No reason” and Baekhyun couldn’t stop laughing until he left, he never liked Crème brûlée, he was a sucker for cheesecake.

+++

So Chanyeol didn’t like his apartment, no, he hated it, it was the most quiet apartment in Seoul. Everything is quiet, no fire alarms, no knocking on his door, nothing. Also there are those two stupid reasons, 1/ The building is children free, meaning that there was no one to remind him of a certain neighbour who looked too cute to be an adult, 2/ no pets allowed, so there was no puppies, he loved puppies, he want to see them all the time, puppies are cute, as cute as a certain neighbour. He sighed loudly, he’s losing his mind, the time spent with Baekhyun is playing in his mind nonstop, he’s even imagining knocks on his door, but the imagination soon become too real to be imagination.

He practically flied to open the door, even though he saw Baekhyun yesterday, he was still so eager to see him again, even if he’s coming to tell him about what happened to his confession, he will be a big boy and mask his feelings and be happy for his friend.

He opened the door and was greeted by Baekhyun, holding a piece of biscuit, with a slice of cheese over it and a strawberry on top.

“What is this?”

“Strawberry cheesecake, non-baked one, your favourite,” baekhyun looked at the so called strawberry cheesecake on his hand and wince over how unappealing it looked, “sorry, I was on a hurry and didn't think straight so I did the first thing that came up to my mind, you once said that simplicity is the best, so uhm yeah.”

Chanyeol’s heart was beating so fast it could jump out of his chest but he collected himself, “Baekhyun what are you trying to say”

“I want to confess” he answered.

“I thought you already did”

“No”

“No?”

“No, so uh, allow me to confess”

“Ok” by now, Chanyeol couldn’t hear clearly over the bounding of his heartbeat, Baekhyun was looking at him with determination on his cute eyes and he couldn’t help but feel a rush of hope.

“Ok, so, I was obsessed with confessing until I blocked out my own feelings, truth is, I don’t like Kyungsoo, I never liked him, but I didn’t realize that until..., I was so into learning how to bake the perfect strawberry cheesecake and before I know it, I wasn’t thinking about Kyungsoo, I wasn’t Chanyeol. When you said that I’m ready now to confess I wanted to cry because I didn’t want to confess, I just wanted you to feel proud of me while you eat my very first cheesecake, when you wished me luck with Kyungsoo I wanted to cry because I don’t want to have luck with Kyungsoo, I wanted to stay with you and enjoy my first cheesecake”

“Beakh-”

“Yesterday, when you kissed me-”

“I didn’t”

“On the cheek, when you kissed me on the cheek, I freaked out because I liked it and I want you to kiss me, I want you to look at me like you did yesterday, heck, I want you to feel me up, I want it but-”

Chanyeol couldn’t take it anymore so he pulled the shorter to him, cradled his beautiful face with his large hands and moved slowly until they locked their lips together, at first Baekhyun didn’t move but then he started to kiss him back, clutching the front of Chanyeol’s shirt. They were basically making out in the middle of the hallway but they didn’t have the mind to move. Baekhyun’s lips were so soft and sweet against his, he took his thin upper lip in between his plump ones and nibbling on it then he placed a gentle kiss to the cute mole on the corner above his lips before he pulled away to look at the adorable creature on front of him.

“You kissed me again”

“I did”

“On the lips”

“Yup”

“Why?”

“Because I want all the things you said, I want to kiss you, look at you, feel you up, I want it all” and this time Baekhyun is the one who jumped on his and wraps his arms around his neck, kissing him passionately and Chanyeol hold him by the waist, they wanted to keep going but they needed air and privacy before anyone pass and see them, going at it so they pulled back and gazed into each other lovingly.

“I didn’t think that you were feeling the same.” Baekhyun shyly commented.

“Baekhyun”

“Yes”

“I fell for you when I saw you holding a blowtorch aiming it to hit me”

“That’s-”

“But then you told me that you already like someone so I pushed my feelings somewhere and I focused on helping you out, how about you?”

“When I saw Kyungsoo today, I’m a bit slow I know, but when I saw him, I couldn’t see him, my mind was full of someone else, that’s when I realized that I fell for that someone else”

“Someone else being me”

“Someone else being you”

+++

They were cuddling for the first time in chanyeol’s living room when Baekhyun raised his face suddenly, “hey guess what”

“What” he chuckled at the cute boy on his arms still not believing what happened?

“You did found someone you are willing to date” his eyes were lighting up and Chanyeol couldn’t help but smile at him and ruffle his hair.

“Well guess what” Chanyeol asked then,

“What?”

“I still can’t give my mother grandchildren” he smirked at Baekhyun who blushed deeply.

“CHANYEOL”

“But come on, let me prove to you that I am no way near being impotent”

“PARK CHANYEOL”

**Author's Note:**

> Mods' Notes: During the duration of BAE2016, we're kindly asking you to leave your reviews on [Livejournal](http://baeconandeggs.livejournal.com/28079.html). Thank you for reading!♥


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